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Writing workshop a novel idea

Brian Henry listens to a question from a writing workshop participant Saturday afternoon in the Brewery Bay event room. Henry, a lecturer at Ryerson University, was in town to lead a workshop on plotting novels and short stories. ROBERTA BELL - THE PACKET & TIMES

When writing a novel, most people tend to get stuck after the first few chapters.

“That’s standard,” said Brian Henry, who lectures in both creative writing and publishing at Ryerson University.

The challenge, he continued, is figuring out how to take the idea further.

Henry took a group of 24 local professional and new writers through the process of plotting novels and short stories Saturday afternoon in the Brewery Bay Food Company event room during a six-hour workshop put on by the Leacock-Simcoe branch of the Canadian Authors Association.

While an idea for a novel usually has to be grown, people tend to spend too long thinking and not enough time writing, said Henry. To prove his point, he had each member of the group draft an original short story in 45 minutes.

“You discover what the story is about by doing it,” he said.

Workshop co-ordinator Rose-Ann Marchitto has taken courses with Henry before.

“There’s always something new,” she said.

Marchitto, who has penned a number of short stories and is currently working on a fictional novel, said she picked up some tips of her own.

“Even if you’re a seasoned writer, there’s things that you forget,” she said.

For more information on the Canadian Authors Association or to learn about becoming a member, visit canauthors.org.